Cribbage board



Jan 2, 1951 A. J. KULAKUSKY 2,536,188

CRIBBAGE BOARD Filed Aug. 1, 1949 FIG.I 2i

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l/)N '4 mvENToR l5 12 ANTHONY J. KULAKUSKY ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES i-ETENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a cribbage board and it is the general object of the invention to provide such a board adaptable more particularly for blind players.

In the playing of cribbage the tally or count is generally kept by means of pegs or the like which are moved progressively along e, pair of rows of holes drilled in a board. Such a board is not well suited for those who are blind or have poor eyesight because of the diniculty of following the holes in the board. It is an important object of the present invention to provide a cribbage board having pegs arranged more or less in the order of holes in the usual board, and provide counters which can be moved along the rows of pegs and be temporarily mounted on a peg from which it can be readily removed and moved to another peg at the next play of the game.

It is a further object of the invention to provide counters which are of a larger size than the pegs so that the player, in moving his thumb and foreiinger along a row of pegs, can tell when he has reached the counter and move the counter to another peg. In this feature 0f the invention the counters may be of elongated form and have holes in their lower ends to receive the upper ends of the pegs.

The counters may if desired be cylindrical in form and the pegs can be round so that the counter can rotate on a peg at the touch of a player and thus indicate its position. The pegs are usually used in pairs, one pair for each player, and the pegs of one pair are preferably different from those of the other pair in some manner which can be determined by the sense of touch. One pair may for instance have smooth cylindrical surfaces while the pegs of the other pair will be roughened, or at least formed so they can be distinguished from the others.

To further aid a blind player to determine the 1^ location of his counter and remove it from its peg it is a further object of the invention to provide the pegs 'with stop shoulders located above the level of the board on which the counters rest. When the counter is located above the board by one of the shoulders the player can easily move his thumb under the counter to lift it.

The rotatability of the counters, and the shoulders on the pegs are not essential, but represent convenient features of the Cribbage board set forth in more detail hereinafter. In any event the counters should be of a size different from that of the pegs to enable their position to be determined readily by the sense of touch.

With these and other obiects in view' which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set. forth.

In the accompanying drawing, which shows a convenient embodiment of the invention,

Fig. l is a plan view of a Cribbage board made according to the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2-2, Fig. l,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section on line 3 3, Fig. 2, showing a counter on one of the pegs,

Fig. 4. is an enlarged horizontal section on line 4 6, Fig. 3,

Figs. 5 and 6 show elevations, partly in section, of two forms of counters which may be used by i different players, and

Fig. Z is a detail front elevation looking in the direction of arrow i, Fig. l, parts being broken away, showing two counters on adjacent pegs.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, the board it is preferably though not necessarily made of `wood. The board has upstanding therefrom a plurality of pegs il formed as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Each peg has a screw threaded stem i2 screv.r threaded into a hole i3 in the board. At the tcp of the stem is a circular flange l@ which is held firmly against the top surface of the board by the stem. Extending upwardly from the flange is a part or shank i5 preferably square in cross-section, see Fig. Ll, and terminating at its upper end in a stop shoulder ifi. Extending upwardly from the stop shoulder is an end il preierably circular in cross-section. The peg is preferably made of metal and all o the described parts thereof are integral.

The pegs are arranged in two pairs of rows, pair comprising top and bottom rows 2i and 22, respectively, extending lengthwise of the board, and the lower pair 23 having rows 24 and 25. The pegs of each pair of rows are arranged in groups of rive, see Fig. 1, in a manner similar to the holes in the usual board.

it the ieit end are arranged game pegs, one for each row of playing pegs, the game pegs being shown at E. The game pegs are similar to the other pegs and are for the purpose of supporting the counters. The game pegs corresponding to pair 2E) of rows of playing pegs have mounted thereon counters Si), lwhile the other counters 3i are provided for the game pegs corresponding to pair 23 of rows of pegs.

Each counter t@ may be made as shown in Fig. 5 and comprises an elongated cylindrical body having a cylindrical bore 32 in the lower end thereof of a diameter to i'lt the upper end or" a game or playing peg and, if desired, of such length that the lower end of the counter can rest on a shoulder le. This latter relationship is not essential, however, since the counter can be supported on the top of a peg fitting into bore 32. The upper part ol the counter 35i has cut in the periphery thereof grooves S4 which serve iho purpose of permitting the counter to be identied by the sense of touch. The counter may be made of any convenient material, such as wood, plastic, etc.

' player andpain 23`A tothe-other. player;

Counter 3i is similar to counter 30 except that its upper end is smooth and left cylindrical so that it can be distinguished from the upper part of counter 36.

Both types encounters, when in position on. the board, extendI above thetops of the playing pegs, and are of a larger diameter than the upper ends of the pegs. Also, each counter can, if desired,

have its bore 32 of such size that the counter can;

rotate on a peg, although this is not necessary, or the counter can be made to t frictionallyon the pegs.

At the start of a game the counters will' be on their game pegs, as indicated in full lines in Fig. 1, and a pair 20 of pegs will be assigned to the rst When the iirst player makes a score he vwill move one of the counters 35 to the correct playing peg, countingoithe correct number of pegs with his ngers. If heshould be the next to score he will remove the other counter 3i) from its game peg and then slide his thumb along one side of row 2i' and his forefinger along the other side until he reaches the counter previously placed. Since the latter -counter is larger in diameter than the playing pegs he-vvill readily detect it, and will then count off the number of playing pegs corresponding to-his second score and t the other counter Sii to. the correct peg. He will follow this procedure throughout the remainder of the game.

If the other player should move one of his counters 3| to a playing peg the lirst player, if

touching counter 3l, will be able to tell by its feel that itis not his, since the upper ends of the counters 35, and 3|4 are different. counters be free to rotate on the playing pegs their turning when touched by a players nger will distinguish them from the pegs. Also, by

runninghis finger along the shanks ll a player can feel the bottom of a -counter when reaching it due to the fact that the counter will be resting on a stop shoulder I 6. A player thus has several ways of locating his counter.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth a Cribbage board having rows of playing pegs adapted to support counters which are moved from one position to another according to the scores made in the playing of the game; The playing pegs are secured to the board and stand upright therefrom and can readily be felt and counted off by players who are blind or have defective eyesight. Each peg is preferably screw threaded into the board and has a flange to engagethe surface of the board and position the'topsof' the pegs at a uniform height above the board. The counters are made so that they can be' supported on the playing pegs and are of larger horizontal dimensions than the pegs so that a blind player when moving his nger and thumb along opposite sides of a row of playing pegs will be able readily to detect the position ofthe counter. The latter may if desired'be supported on the shoulders IE ofthe playing pegs, and may if desired be arranged so that they can rotate on the upper ends of the pegs. The counters extend above the tops of the pegs and the counters for one player' have their upper ends formed in such manner as to be' distinguishable by the sense of touch from the counters of the other player. The examples shown in Figs. 5 and 6 are to be understod as representative only of two different forms of counters, but the invention is not limited to the particular forms illustrated, The game pegs may be similar to the playing pegs and support the counters as shown in' Fig. 1- at Should the the start of the game. The playing or counting pegs will be arranged as closely together as is convenient, but will be far enough apart to permit two counters to be supported on adjacent pegs, as shown in Fig. 7.

Having thus described the invention it will be seen that changes and modifications of the foregoing specific disclosure may be made without departing, from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a Cribbage board, parallel rows of pegs secured in the board and extending upwardly therefrom, each peg having a shoulder above the surface of the board, and a counter having an openingv inthe under side thereof to receive the peg andhaving a bottom to rest on saidlshoulder and be located by the latter'above the surface of the board.

2. In a cribbage board, parallelrows of pegs secured on the board and having upper ends extending to a given height above the surface of the board, and a counter having a hole extendingpart-way up thereinto a distance less than said given distance to receive the end of any of the pegs, said counter being of a height greater than said given height to extend above a peg on which itis Vsupported and above the other pegs to be distinguishable from said pegs by the'sense of touch.

3. In a- Cribbage board, a parallel row of pegs secured to and extending upwardly a given height from the surface of the board, and a counter adapted for support on any one of the pegs'having a hole-extending upwardly therein to receive apeg and being of a height greater than said given height andof such shape as to'extendbeyond parallel planes touching the opposite sides of the pegs in said row, the -counter when supported on a peg extending above said row of pegs to assist location'of the counter by the sense of touch when av players thumb and foreiinger are moved along the row of pegs.

4. In a Cribbage board for use with a counter having a hole extending upwardly thereinto, a row of'similar pegs on said board, each peg having a; screw threaded shankr screw threaded into the board and each peg having a flange of a given diameter greater than the diameter of the hole engaging the surface of the board to locate the tops'of the pegs at a uniform distance above the board, and each peg having also an end of less diameter than said given diameter extending upwardly from the ange to enter the hole in the counter, a, flange supporting the counter when the latter' is on the corresponding peg.

ANTHONY J. KULAKUSKY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 81,598 Canary Sept. 1, 1868 208,780 Winder Oct. 8, 1878 321,599 Count July 7, 1385 795,873 Schinkel July 29, 1902 1,656,993 Searle Jan. 24, 1928 1,927,342 Hedricks Sept. 19, 1933 2,456,155 Seaman Dec. 14, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 154,818 Great Britain Dec. 9, 1920 367,956 Greatv Britain Mar. 3, 1932 

